Desire
by xfirefly9x
Summary: Mal/Inara. Mal and Inara give in to their desires...or do they?
1. I Want You, I Want Us

Desire 

Mal strode into Inara's shuttle not bothering to knock, as usual. He headed straight for the couch and slumped down, dragging his hand through his brown hair with a weary sigh.

"Why, Mal. It's nice to see that you've learnt how to knock." Inara welcomed him with a sarcastic half smile and elegantly pulled herself up from where she had been perched on her bed. She walked over to sit beside him.

"Yeah," Mal grunted in response. He clearly hadn't listened to a word she'd said.

"So, what brings you here today, Captain?" Inara questioned, trying to break through his somewhat thick exterior. She pulled her legs up underneath her and shifted into a more comfortable pose.

"You," he answered gruffly, ducking his head. "I can't seem to get you out of my head."

"Wha–?" All threads of Companion training fell away and Inara was left defenceless, Mal's words being the last thing she'd expected to hear. Mal was supposed to be too stubborn to admit anything to her – so why was he now?

A shocked expression forced its way onto Inara's face and her mouth dropped open in astonishment.

"You fog things up. You always have," Mal explained, his gaze focused resolutely on the floor. "You spin me about," he hesitated.

Regaining control of her bodily functions once again, Inara clamped her mouth shut. Unsure of how to respond, she settled on a quick nod in the Captain's direction. "I'm sorry," she murmured.

"Nothin' to be sorry about."

Inara shook her head as if it would clear away her confusion and reached out her hand, resting it on Mal's leg. "Mal! What's going on?"

"I want you, Inara," Mal told her, finally looking up. "I want us."

He leant in, rapidly closing the gap between them. His lips brushed Inara's, lingering for a moment before moving closer and closer until they fell into a kiss. Inara was too stunned to pull away and before long found herself deepening the kiss.

Clutching Mal's hands in hers, she pulled him towards the bed. "This had better not be a dream!" She mumbled into his chest.

"This? A dream? It's too good to be a dream!" Mal teased as Inara helped him removed his shirt.

"Mal –"

A loud knock at the shuttle door startled Inara and she woke up.


	2. Unwanted Services

Inara rubbed tiredly at her eyes and pulled herself up to a sitting position. "Ching jin," she called, as her intruder pounded on the door again. The knocking stopped short and there was a small creak as the shuttle door swung open.

"Hey, Inara," Mal grinned cheerfully at her. Moving inside, he took up his usual position on the couch and retrieved a strawberry scented candle from the wooden table in front of him.

Inara rolled her eyes as he began to play with it and forgetting about her current choice of clothing – a thin, red garment that was perhaps a little more revealing than most – elegantly rose from her bed, headed over to the couch and snatched the candle from Mal.

"Hey!" He grunted in protest. Inara shot him an irritated look as she placed the candle back in on the table and he fell back, defeated.

"I presume there was a reason for your visit, Captain?" Inara asked, finally realising her limited clothing. She retrieved a matching nightgown from the top drawer of her dresser and slid it on, pulling it tightly around her.

Mal nodded. "Yeah, we seem to have gotten ourselves a little trouble," he explained, a mischievous grin spreading over his face. "Or you have, anyway."

Inara waited for him to continue, but he remained silent. "And, what would that be?" she finally inquired, sitting down beside him. _If there was trouble, why was he smiling?_ Inara thought to herself, curiously.

"Well, it seems that your people sent down a wave. Wash took a message for you…" Mal hesitated, sliding his hand into the left pocket of his brown coat and fumbling around for something. "…and here it is!"

He pulled his hand out of his pocket, revealing a scrunched up slip of paper clenched firmly between two fingers.

"The Guild sent a wave?" Inara asked, still digesting.

"Sure did!" Mal grinned. "Seems they don't want your services anymore."


	3. Got Some Explainin' To Do

Inara sighed wearily and took the paper from Mal. "If that was true, Mal, they would contact me in person. Is this some kind of joke?" She scanned the page quickly to confirm what he had just told her.

The writing was scrawled messily in Wash's handwriting and although Inara didn't suspect that the pilot would play a prank on her like that, she didn't doubt that Mal might somehow have managed to get him to write it. Perhaps he threatened to dump him in the hold for a month or make him bunk with Jayne for a day or two.

That'd be enough incentive for anyone to write a note like that.

Or maybe Mal had threatened to dump him at the next port of harbour. It wasn't as if it hadn't happened before, but it was somewhat less likely. Mal actually liked the pilot some, which put him at an advantage in that department.

"You think this is a joke?" Mal shook his head, frustrated and stared at Inara as if she was a child incapable of understanding the message he was trying to put across to her. "If this was a joke, do you think I'd be this happy about it?"

Inara glowered at him and remained silent. There was no way that she would give in and resort to playing the Captains' game. No way.

"You tell me!" she shot back, defiantly. Apparently her resolve wasn't as strong as she'd thought it was – she found herself almost ready to give in and let her frenzied, uncontrollable impulses take over.

"Jus' did," Mal retorted, incredulously. He rolled his eyes and moved closer to the uneasy Companion.

"You just did?" Inara asked. "Would you care to repeat yourself then?"

"Sure!" Mal let a lopsided grin slide onto his face and watched the Companion as he spoke. "The Guild don't want you anymore. They fired you. And I'm glad."

He paused, satisfied, as his words finally sank in and Inara slumped down on the edge of her bed, stunned. "Really?" Her tone had softened considerably and hinted that she'd chosen to believe him finally.

"Yes, really. You're one of us now," Mal confirmed. He took another few steps forward, until he was close enough to Inara that she could feel his breath on her face.

"One of you?"

"One of us," Mal nodded and edged closer to her, gazing into her brown eyes with an intense passion that she had never encountered while she had been with any clients.

"So that means –?" Inara gestured meaningfully with her hands, pointing at first herself and then at Mal.

Mal nodded. "Yup, sure does!"

He closed the gap between them, his lips crashing into hers with the intensity of a meteor hitting the atmosphere. Inara kissed him back, hard. Her arms pulled him to her and once again, she was amazed that it had taken them so long to show their feelings for each other.

_Wuh de tyen, ah! This time let it be real! _Her thoughts were desperate, but soon forgotten.

Mal pushed Inara up against the wall and she groaned pleasurably as he began to kiss her neck. He trailed the kisses down her stomach, unbuttoning her blouse slowly as he went. She was in total ecstasy.

"Mal!" Inara groaned into his chest as her blouse fell to the floor.

A loud banging noise suddenly caught her attention and she glanced up to see Mal, standing no more than a metre away. An amused expression was plastered on his face and Inara blushed as she realised what he must've heard.

She let her gaze wander over the floor as Mal moved over and sat on the bed next to her. For a moment or two, they sat in silence. Then, Mal spoke up.

"I think you got some explainin' to do."

Chinese Translations

Wuh de tyen, ah - Dear god in heaven.


End file.
